January 19, 2016

Welcome back and updates from the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion

Welcome back and updates from the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion

Dear Lewis & Clark Community,

On behalf of President Glassner and the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, I wish to update you on the work of the CDI and to welcome you back to another enriching semester at Lewis & Clark.

The committee is excited to continue its ongoing effort to help Lewis & Clark further its commitment to being a welcoming and inclusive community. As you know, late last November President Glassner asked the CDI to create a diversity action plan to guide its work and the work of all of Lewis & Clark. The deadline for the completion of the action plan is the end of spring 2016.

Toward that end, on December 7 we conducted a listening forum to receive input from the wide community on its thoughts and needs in the area of diversity and inclusion. In addition, we have created a brief online survey for the submission of input from those who could not attend the forum. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2016. So, if you have not had an opportunity to submit your thoughts, please complete this survey to do so.

The CDI is in the process of compiling the input that we have received. In February a document with the input will be available on the diversity website. We will send an announcement when it is posted.

In addition to updating you on the action plan, I’d like to highlight two current diversity actions. First, the campus climate survey that the CDI has been planning will take place this semester. We strongly encourage everyone to complete the online survey once it is available. Second, beginning with our February meeting, general CDI meetings will be open to Lewis & Clark members who wish to attend. (The executive meetings will still be limited to committee members.) The meeting time, place, and agenda for the general meetings will be available on the diversity website.

If you plan to attend a meeting, please notify Ronna Craig at ronnac@lclark.edu. This notification will ensure that we have a sufficient number of chairs. All of the CDI’s meetings are working meetings: Thus, only committee members may actively participate. However, we will establish a Maxient portal for community members to provide input to the CDI on the work conducted at a meeting.

We very much look forward to working with you this semester.

Sincerely,
Janet W. Steverson, Chair of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion